Whether dealing with the loss of a family member, friend, or pet, grief is a hard emotion to understand and process. These 30 picture books discuss this delicate topic with sensitivity and compassion.
Tag: The Dusty Jacket
30 Picture Books to Welcome the Seasons Series: Summer
Bring out your flip-flops, sunscreen, and swimsuit because summer is here! These 30 picture books are a great way to enjoy the season without the sunburn. So, fire up the grill and download your free booklist today!
30 Picture Books to Help Teach BIG Emotions Series: Greedy & Selfish
Having EVERYTHING or keeping MORE for yourself is great until you realize that everything and more are no fun when there’s no longer anyone around. Here is a list of 30 picture books that help your preschooler understand how sharing has its own rewards. It’s FREE so download your copy today!
Study Guide: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
A great supplement to Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery Honor book about a mangy dog, a lonely girl, and the power of kindness and understanding. Activities include expository writing, comparison and contrast, researching topics, and completing a character study. End-of-book tests included with answer key. Perfect for self-guided study. Grades: 4-7
Study Guide: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-Because-of-Winn-Dixie-by-Kate-DiCamillo-11472615
20 Early Reader Books that Celebrate Gardens and Gardening
Encourage beginning readers with these books that celebrate the joys of gardening and the beauty that comes from growing different kinds of gardens. These 20 early readers will help cultivate a love of reading while promoting the excitement that comes with watching something grow.
Grades: K-3
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (J Fiction)
They say Maniac Magee was born in a dump. They say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart a sofa spring. They say he kept an eight-inch cockroach on a leash and that rats stood guard over him while he slept. They say.
Maniac Magee
Jerry Spinelli (J Fiction)
They say Maniac Magee was born in a dump. They say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart a sofa spring. They say he kept an eight-inch cockroach on a leash and that rats stood guard over him while he slept. They say.
In a world where it’s hard to tell what’s real, slight exaggeration, or utter nonsense, one thing that’s undeniably true is that the boy known as Maniac is a straight-up legend. This scraggly orphan with the blown-out sneakers does more than just rescue Arnold Jones from Finsterwald’s backyard, runs along the steel rail of the railroad tracks, sleeps alongside a baby buffalo, and scores an inside-the-park homerun by bunting a frogball. No, sirree. This mythological marvel did what few would even think—nay—dare to do and that’s take on that foul and odious beast separating East End from West End in Two Mills, Pennsylvania. What beast would that be you ask? Racism.
It’s no wonder why Jerry Spinelli’s book received the highest honor in children’s literature—the John Newbery Medal. This heartwarming story of racial division, acceptance, family, and loyalty is as relevant and important today as it was when it was written in 1990. It tackles the ugliness and unfairness of racial prejudice head on with humor and heart and in a way that young readers can understand and absorb its important message of unity and understanding.
Maniac Magee tells the story of twelve-year-old Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee and his rise from runaway orphan to unforgettable legend. By performing impossible feats, he earns himself not only a spot in town folklore, but also in the hearts of just about everyone he meets. Yet despite his talents and charisma, there are still a few folks—on both sides of Hector Street—who have suffered so much pain and mistreatment in the past that they are unable to forgive, forget, and move on to face a different future.
In his 1990 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award acceptance speech for Maniac Magee, Spinelli answered the question that so many of his fans and admirers have asked him over the years: “Were you Maniac?” And, in true Jerry Spinelli fashion, he responded, “I sure was. Weren’t we all?” Perhaps none of us will never experience the fame and notoriety of one Maniac Magee, but one thing’s for sure and that’s the world could certainly use a few more just like him right about now.
Rating: 5/5
NEW!! Want to share this book with your homeschooler or classroom? Download our study guide: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-Maniac-Magee-by-Jerry-Spinelli-11348884
30 Picture Books that Celebrate Gardens and Gardening
Flower gardens, vegetable gardens, rooftop gardens, community gardens, or concrete gardens, spring means it’s time to sow and grow! Get your preschooler excited about gardens and gardening with these 30 picture books to help cultivate a love reading and enjoying the outdoors.
Study Guide: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
A great ELA supplement to Jerry Spinell’s classic book of fighting racism, fitting in, and finding family. Activities include working with similes and personification, comparison and contrast using a Venn Diagram, creating a character study, and conducting research. End-of-book tests included with answer key. Perfect for self-guided study. Grades: 4-7
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-Maniac-Magee-by-Jerry-Spinelli-11348884
FREE! 30 Picture Books to Help Teach BIG Emotions Series: Patience
Dealing with patience is HARD!! It’s difficult waiting for something that you really, REALLY want! Here are 30 books to help your preschooler and early reader handle situations when they just want something NOW! It’s absolutely FREE so download your copy today!
The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis (J Fiction)
The Hundred Penny Box
Sharon Bell Mathis (J Fiction)
Michael loves counting the pennies in his great-great Aunt Dew’s old wooden box. There’s one hundred in total—each one representing a year of her life and more importantly, a memory. Aunt Dew may forget a lot of things, but she remembers every milestone that each penny represents, and Michael enjoys hearing her tell these stories over and over again. But Michael’s mother wants to get rid of the box. She says it’s old and gets underfoot. Aunt Dew has lost so much already, Michael can’t allow her to lose her beloved box as well. How can he make his mother understand its importance when all she sees is an ugly old box?
Recipient of the Newbery Honor Book award in 1976, The Hundred Penny Box is a compassionate and heartfelt book that depicts aging and caring for the aged in a realistic and thoughtful manner. It’s a moving, multi-generational story of a young boy and his beloved great-great aunt and the simple pleasures they share while counting old coins and reliving cherished memories. While their relationship is sweet, Mathis also depicts the challenges of caring for the elderly as she places all of the stress and anxiety of daily care squarely on the shoulders of Michael’s mother, Ruth. Readers will most certainly view her as the story’s villain and who can blame them when even Michael apologizes to Aunt Dew for his mother’s mean behavior.
At 47 pages—including the beautiful watercolor illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon—this book is probably one of the shortest (if not the shortest) books to win a Newbery; however, its brevity should not be confused with simplicity for its complex themes of empathy, respect, compassion, and love make this a book that needs to be read slowly and savored. Author Tia Walker wrote, “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” The pennies in Aunt Dew’s box may have only added up to a dollar, but Aunt Dew was a woman whose warmth and faith made her a priceless treasure that no box could contain and whose worth could never be measured.
Rating: 5/5
NEW!! Want to share this book with your homeschooler or classroom? Download our FREE study guide: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-The-Hundred-Penny-Box-by-Sharon-Bell-Mathis-11285435
The Dusty Jacket 